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Vasco Nunez de Balboa (c 1475-1519), an adventurer from Jerez de
los Caballeros in Estremadura, western Spain, had led the life of
colonist and conquistador in Colombia and Hispaniola from 1501. In
1511 he was appointed governor of the colony of Santa Maria de la
Antigua on what is now called the coast of Panama. He left the
colony on 1 September 1513 with an expedition of 200 Spaniards and
indigenes, and headed inland, fighting with the indigenous
inhabitants and struggling through dense jungles and swamps. On 25
or 27 September he reached a peak from which he could see the
“South Sea”. His expedition reached the coast four days later and
Balboa claimed the ocean and all it touched for the King of Spain.
Balboa returned to …

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Citation:
Editors. "Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and sees the Pacific". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 May 2008
[https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5555, accessed 26 September 2017.]

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5555Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and sees the Pacific2Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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